Israel (Isserl) ben Josef (around 1500 – 1568) was a wealthy Jewish merchant, banker, and

Talmudist The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

who settled in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

in 1519, following the expulsion of the Jews from the German city of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. He was the father of

Moses Isserles ). He is not to be confused with Meir Abulafia, known as "Ramah" ( he, רמ״ה, italic=no, links=no), nor with Menahem Azariah da Fano, known as "Rema MiPano" ( he, רמ״ע מפאנו, italic=no, links=no). Rabbi Moses Isserles ( he, משה � ...

and the founder of the

Remah Synagogue The Remah Synagogue ( pl, Synagoga Remu) is a 16th-century Jewish temple and the smallest of all historic synagogues in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, Poland. The synagogue is named after Rabbi Moses Isserles (c.1525–1572), known by the Hebr ...

Kazimierz Kazimierz (; la, Casimiria; yi, קוזמיר, Kuzimyr) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the ...

, now a district of Kraków, built in 1553 on land owned by Israel ben Josef. According to

The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

, it may be concluded from the terms which his son applies to him in his preface to "''Meḥir Yayin''" that he was the chief of the community.

Remah Synagogue

According to one popular tradition, Israel founded the synagogue in honor of his son Moses, who already in his youth was famed for his erudition. However, the Hebrew inscription of the foundation tablet reads: "Husband, R. Israel, son of Josef of blessed memory, bound in strength, to the glory of the Eternal One, and of his wife Malka, daughter of Eleazar, let her soul be received among the living, built this synagogue, the house of the Lord, from her bequest. Lord restore the treasure of Israel", implying that the synagogue was built in memory of Israel's wife, Malka (died 1552).

Legend

Israel was careful to never engage in business on Fridays after midday. According to legend, it was in this merit that he was awarded from Heaven to have such an illustrious son.

References

{{Authority control Year of birth unknown 1568 deaths Bankers 16th-century merchants 16th-century Jews Talmudists Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Businesspeople from Kraków Year of birth uncertain